- 496 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
Three Plays
About this book
From celebrated Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Thornton Wilder, three of the greatest plays in American literature together in one volume.
This omnibus edition brings together Wilder's three best-known plays: Our Town, The Skin of Our Teeth, and The Matchmaker. In includes a preface by the author, as well as a foreword by playwright John Guare.
Our Town, Wilder's timeless Pulitzer Prize-winning look at love, death, and destiny, opened on Broadway in 1938 and continues to be celebrated and performed around the world.
The Skin of our Teeth, Wilder's 1942 romp about human follies and human endurance starring the Antrobus family of Excelsior, New Jersey, earned Wilder his third Pulitzer Prize.
The Matchmaker, Wilder's brilliant 1954 farce about money and love starring that irrepressible busybody Dolly Gallagher Levi. This play inspired the Broadway musical Hello, Dolly!
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Yes, you can access Three Plays by Thornton Wilder in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Literature & American Drama. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
The Matchmaker
A Farce in Four Acts
Playwright’s Note
This play is a rewritten version of The Merchant of Yonkers, which was directed in 1938 by Max Reinhardt and is again dedicated to Max Reinhardt with deep admiration and indebtedness.
Historical Note
The Merchant of Yonkers was produced by Herman Shumlin and directed by Max Reinhardt. The production was designed by Boris Aronson. The cast included Jane Cowl, June Walker, Nydia Westman, Minna Phillips, Percy Waram, Tom Ewell, John Call, Joseph Sweeney, Philip Coolidge, and Edward Nannery. It was first performed on December 12, 1938, at the Colonial Theatre, Boston. The New York engagement opened at the Guild Theatre on December 28, 1938.
The Matchmaker was produced for the Edinburgh Festival by Tennent Productions. It was directed by Dr. Tyrone Guthrie, and the production was designed by Tanya Moiseiwitsch. The first performance was at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, on August 23, 1954.
The same production opened at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, London, on November 4, 1954. Without changes in the principal roles—with the exception of that of Mr. Vandergelder, which was played successively by Sam Levene, Eddie Mayehoff, and Loring Smith—the play was performed at the Locust Street Theatre, Philadelphia, on October 27,1955.
The Matchmaker opened at the Royale Theatre (now Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre) in New York on December 5, 1955.
The cast of the play from Edinburgh to New York, with the exceptions noted, included:
HORACE VANDERGELDER | Loring Smith |
CORNELIUS HACKL | Arthur Hill |
BARNABY TUCKER | Robert Morse (following Alec McCowen) |
MALACHI STACK | Patrick McAlinney |
AMBROSE KEMPER | Alexander Davion (following Lee Montague) |
WAITERS | William Lanteau (following and followed by Timothy Findley) and John Milligan |
CABMAN | Peter Bayliss |
DOLLY LEVI | Ruth Gordon |
IRENE MOLLOY | Eileen Herlie |
MINNIE FAY | Rosamund Greenwood |
ERMENGARDE | Prunella Scales |
GERTRUDE | Charity Grace (following Henzie Raeburn) |
FLORA VAN HUYSEN | Esme Church |
COOK | Christine Thomas (following Daphne Newton) |
Characters and Setting
CHARACTERS
HORACEV ANDERGELDER | A merchant of Yonkers, New York | |
CORNELIUS HACKL BARNABY TUCKE... |
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Contents
- Foreword by John Guare
- Preface by Thornton Wilder
- Our Town: A Play in Three Acts
- The Skin of Our Teeth: A Play in Three Acts
- The Matchmaker: A Farce in Four Acts
- Note on the Plays
- About the Author
- Also by Thornton Wilder
- Copyright
- About the Publisher